Belinda Bencic pulled out of her Canadian Open quarter-final against Coco Gauff in Toronto at the 11th hour, citing hip discomfort. The No. 12 seed addressed the crowd on Centre Court, and Gauff advanced to the semi-finals via walkover.
Second withdrawal in Toronto
Bencic became the second player to withdraw from the WTA 1000 event in Toronto, while there have been five mid-match retirements. Over in Montreal, which is simultaneously hosting the ATP Masters 1000 event, there has been one withdrawal and four retirements, including three Canadian players.
No. 2 seed and home favourite Felix Auger-Aliassime pulled out hours before his opening match last week. His countrymen Denis Shapovalov and Gabriel Diallo had already been forced to retire from their own matches.
Rain delays hit both tournaments
There have also been countless rain delays in both Toronto and Montreal. One day before the women's quarter-final was cancelled, two of the four men's quarter-finals in Montreal had to be postponed. Rafael Jodar vs Arthur Fils and Brandon Nakashima vs Luciano Darderi were scheduled for Monday night, but rain and thunderstorms meant they never took to the court. The night session was cancelled, and the four men returned on Tuesday afternoon.
The men's quarter-finals were finally completed, but the WTA event in Toronto took a knock when Bencic had to pull out. In a statement shared on social media, the tournament said: "Belinda Bencic has withdrawn from the NBO due to an injury (hip). As a result, the second singles match between Naomi Osaka and Elena Rybakina has been moved up to not before 7:30 p.m. Coco Gauff, who was scheduled to face Bencic, advances to the semi-finals via walkover."
Bencic apologises to fans
Bencic released her own statement: "I am really sorry to not be able to compete tonight. This is an amazing tournament and I was really looking forward to playing in front of the great fans here in Toronto. I tried everything possible to be ready for tonight. Looking forward to being back in Toronto next time."
The 2020 Olympic champion stepped out onto Centre Court to address the fans and apologise. "I really tried all I could to be ready for tonight. I have some hip issues. I tried to warm-up, I tried to take painkillers, and it didn't really work," she added.
Gauff will now face Elena Rybakina in the semis, after the No. 2 seed came back from behind to beat Naomi Osaka 4-6 7-6(5) 6-4. In the other semi-final, Iga Swiatek meets Elina Svitolina.
